MONEY BAIL IN THE U.S.

What is bail?

Bail is a contract agreement between the court and the accused to come back for their trial. This agreement can include a phone call reminder from the court or people being released on their own accord, but most cities, counties, states and the federal government currently require money bail.

U.S. Bail Timeline

For capital offenses, the decision to detain before a trial was left up to the judge

1966: Congress passes Bail Reform Act

Intended to decrease financial hardships of bail on low-income individuals

Judicial officers required to take the accused’s family, community, employment, criminal history, and history of non-appearance at trial into consideration before setting release conditions

1976: Kentucky outlaws for-profit bail services

This effectively eliminates commercial bondsmen

Instead, statewide agency tried to determine accused’s flight risk with a risk assessment tool combining questionnaire about the accused’s history and and other social factors

Judges would use this information to set bail

1984: Reagan Administration passes amendment to Bail Reform Act

The 1984 Bail Reform Act implemented preventative detention, which held individuals without without any evidence that they would commit a crime again.

According to the Federal Judicial Center, the act allowed for defendants to ‘be detained because of the risk of danger to the community even where there is no showing that they are likely to engage in physical violence.’